About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Orson looked at the screen and then at Kal'tsit, but the Queen Mother rarely responded. She just turned her eyes away silently, not looking at Orson.

"Doctor Kelsey?"

Of course, Orson is still a very important figure in Rhodes Island. He did not just laugh it off and ignore it, but continued to ask Kal'tsit what was going on.

"…Research on a cure for oripathy has reached a bottleneck, so we have no choice but to increase research funding. It seems there are some minor issues with fund management—Um, sorry, Orson, this is my problem."

Kal'tsit sighed halfway through her speech. It was obvious that even she knew that what she was doing was indeed a bit "inappropriate".

"I sort of understand what's going on... If it's research related to oripathy, then there's no way around the expense. We'll quietly handle it before the other operators realize the funding issue."

Orson nodded to Kelsey in response.

"Orson... well, thank you."

Kal'tsit was a little confused at first when Orson responded without any hint of anger. She was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to her senses and smiled back.

Although Kal'tsit has always been the epitome of perfection in the eyes of others, Orson actually knows very well that Kal'tsit has always been quite... bad at fund management.

This imperfection actually proves that Kal'tsit is not something beyond human. She may have witnessed a lot, but she is not some indescribable existence that can really know everything.

Orson also understood the "main reason" for Kal'tsit's trip to Xiosta. The medical department had repeatedly exposed funding gaps. If the operators knew about this, they might question Kal'tsit's leadership ability. (Of course, this didn't happen in reality.)

In order to prevent this from happening, Kal'tsit can only find additional sources of funds in the most covert way possible.

——I feel that Dr. Kal'tsit, who is afraid of being exposed so she tries to find a solution on her own, is unexpectedly quite cute.

"Then the company we are going to sign a contract with is——"

"Hey, young lady, why are you here alone with such a face? If you don't know what to do, would you like to go dance with me on the deck?"

Orson's words were interrupted when two or three men wearing floral shirts, who looked like they were going on vacation to the beach, blocked the seats where the two of them sat. The yellow-haired man in the lead reached out to Kal'tsit's shoulders with a frivolous look on his face, and asked in a frivolous manner.

Kal'tsit looked up at the thugs, and the smile that had been on her face had completely disappeared.

"you……"

"Hey everyone, we're actually discussing what to do when we get to Xiosta, but it's not very convenient right now."

Before Kal'tsit could attack, Orson stood up and stood between Kal'tsit and the three people. He explained to them with a smile.

"Who are you sending it to, shorty? This is an adult cabin. If you get lost, go to the lost and found center."

The yellow-haired leader did not leave along Orson's stairs. Instead, he loudly mocked the boy who suddenly stood in front of him and blocked his way from picking up girls.

The veins on Orson's forehead were visibly exposed, but he still kept a smile on his face.

"I am an adult, sir, and you are indeed disturbing us. Could you please leave?"

"Stay away! Don't stop me from flirting with that girl over there. Look, even though that girl looks very well dressed, I think she's actually hiding something—"

brake--

A black shadow that ordinary people could not notice at all flashed by, and the sudden "strangeness" from the lower body made Huangmao stop speaking vulgar words.

"Before we continue, your belt fell off, sir."

“What… huh!?”

Huangmao didn't understand what was happening until he saw the severed belt in Orson's hand and his own pants lying on the ground. Only then did he realize that he was left with only his underwear sticking out.

"You bastard—huh!?"

"Calm down a bit, everyone. We're all so excited about attending the Obsidian Festival. Let's not do anything unromantic, okay?"

Orson interrupted the man who was trying to continue attacking, or rather, Orson's actions forcibly interrupted everyone.

The "pen-shaped dagger" he'd bought for Yaye was held in Orson's right hand, the tip of the dagger pressed firmly against the neck of the yellow-haired leader. The two men behind him hadn't noticed when an indescribable, strange, black "twisted object" had clung to their bodies, waiting like a scorpion for the command to pierce them.

"You and I……"

Huangmao was instantly covered in cold sweat, while Orson was smiling as usual.

"We don't want to join the celebration just yet, is that okay?"

"W-Wow, I-I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The yellow-haired group crawled away from Orson and Kal'tsit.

After all, a guy who can smile and give off the aura of "kill your whole family" and really has the ability to do so is not someone you can afford to offend even if you use your heels.

"Ha... Sorry, Dr. Kelsey, I wish I could be as tall and handsome as ACE-brother—hmm?"

After driving the thugs away, Orson returned to his seat and bowed his head to apologize quietly to Kal'tsit. However, before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a wonderful light mint aroma mixed with medical alcohol, and a soft touch.

"I prefer you like this, Orson."

Kal'tsit walked to Orson, gently hugged the chimera and said.

"Dr. Kelsey...? Um... Yeah."

Orson blinked, but said nothing more. Instead, he was willing to be Kal'tsit's temporary pillow.

Kal'tsit rarely expresses her emotions directly like this. It would be best not to interrupt this hard-earned time.

Orson thought so and did not withdraw, while Kal'tsit on the other side:

——Very good, it is still within the plan.

Kal'tsit glanced at Orson in her arms and thought so in her mind.

As the guardian of the Terra continent, Kal'tsit certainly would not go to Xiosta in person just for the two reasons of "needing to fill the money bag" and "helping Eyjafjalla to obtain intelligence".

The more important point is that

——It’s unlikely that we’ll meet any ‘acquaintances’ at such a far distance.

Kelsey's "research" on Orson is not just about his Chimera physique. She is also aware of some deeper "intelligence" about Orson.

For example, when Orson goes to the cafeteria, if there is spinach on the menu today, he will definitely squeeze in at that window first. (The reason is that Huafalin once tricked Orson into eating spinach to make him taller.)

For example, Orson had a warehouse in Che City that he owned, and it was filled with all sorts of mail. There were threatening letters from the "Ino Knights," invitations from "Former Tournament Knights," greetings from "XX Monastery," and even photos he refused to show anyone, supposedly taken while working at a coffee shop.

Another example - Orson likes to work anywhere, because he basically doesn't care about the privacy of his own people, so the Reunion Movement/Rhodes Island/strange forces often follow the clues and "pretend" to meet him by chance.

——Sistar is so far away from Longmen, Ursus, and Casimir that there is no way you will meet any acquaintances, at least not from a physical perspective.

Kal'tsit was so sure.

03.The Killer and the Miss

"Orson, wake up."

"Mmmmm... Plur... ..."

"Orson?"

"..."

In the cabin of the landship heading to the coastal city-state of Xiosta, Kal'tsit leaned in the corner and softly called the name of Orson who was leaning on her shoulder.

After calling out several times and the other party only responded with some unknown whisper of an ancient god, Kal'tsit's eyes became sharp.

——The plan was successful.

Kal'tsit felt a strange sense of pride in her heart. She was now basically certain that Orson would not react at all in the next ten minutes. In other words, he had really become her pillow, the kind that she could do whatever she wanted with.

In fact, after Kal'tsit and Orson arrived at their seats, she had been secretly releasing medical alcohol with a very low concentration. After evaporation, the alcohol would gradually spread throughout the nearby area. Because of the concentration she had specially prepared, it was just enough not to let Orson notice the abnormality, but his body had slowly become paralyzed.

The finishing touch was the higher concentration of medical alcohol that he sprayed on his body after getting close to her. Because it was mixed with the original perfume, Orson would not be suspicious at first and would only think that it was the smell that he often carried in the medical department.

Kal'tsit saw through Orson's lazy and careless thinking, and used high-concentration low-purity alcohol to attract him. By the time Orson came to his senses, it was too late to save him and he could only fall into a deep sleep.

This is the strategy and tactics of being the guardian of the Terra continent - what a head.

Kal'tsit looked at Orson's sleeping face beside her. Her joy at "the plan was a success!" lasted only a few seconds before she began to question herself:

What on earth am I doing...

Although there is a bar in the cabin lobby, in order to implement this battle plan, it is necessary to specially mix alcohol yourself. And secretly carrying dangerous goods such as "alcohol" on the landship will more or less take some effort.

Kal'tsit thought about the last time she brought contraband onto public transportation. The answer she got seemed to be during her time in Kazdel, when she carried isoniazid to the train to assassinate a Pelo politician, and that action ultimately came to nothing.

Kal'tsit could never have imagined that she took a risk and carried contraband just to be able to secretly pet this chimera in broad daylight.

"..."

Kal'tsit stared at Orson who was sleeping lightly on her shoulder. Because they were so close, Kal'tsit could even see the eyelashes on Orson's slightly closed eyes.

——This is just a belated collection of interest. He saw me taking a nap before, so I am just getting back my legal rights.

Kal'tsit stared at Orson and used this method to convince herself.

——But come to think of it, this should be the first time I saw Orson defenseless, not in the ward or on the operating table, right?

Kal'tsit stretched out the hand that could move freely and gently reached out to Orson, stroking the bangs on his forehead while thinking.

Orson spent most of his time traveling to various places. For example, he spent some time in the Great Knight Territory of Casimir, and then went to Longmen for a month or two. Even in his free time, he still mostly stayed at the Reunion base.

After returning to Rhode Island, Orson basically spent a small amount of time lying in the hospital ward.

Theoretically, Orson in the base is "defenseless" most of the time. In order to save the burden on his body, his frequency perception ability will automatically filter out wavelengths that have been detected and are not hostile.

This leads to the frequent scenes of Orson being frightened in Rhodes Island.

However, this was actually the first time for Kal'tsit that the other party had no ability to resist or be alert, and she could do whatever she wanted.

After all, when on the operating table or in the hospital bed, although Kal'tsit could have close contact with Orson who "had no ability to resist", in that situation, Orson's identity was not "a boy she had a good impression of", but a patient she needed to rescue with all her strength.

But it was different now. I had no excuse to deny my affection for this young man. The evidence was that I was still staring at him intently and gently stroking his hair with my right hand.

"..."

Kal'tsit felt the touch in her hand, and at the same time thought about how she and Orson had come to this point today.

Initially, he had considered Orson a substitute for the "Doctor," and because Rhodes Island was on the verge of destruction at the time, he unreasonably vented all his anger on this "not-a-Doctor" boy.

But... Orson is 'Orson'. He may have fragments of 'The Doctor' in his body and soul, but they are not the same existence after all.

Orson did not feel any resentment towards himself. He could even understand the despair he was carrying on his shoulders, and he wanted to reach out to his hopeless self from the bottom of his heart.

Kal'tsit has seen many people, or rather, she has seen too many people, but an existence like Orson can be called a "treasure" no matter what era.

Orson mentioned that he once seemed to live with the Doctor. Perhaps Orson was originally a kind-hearted young man, or perhaps the "Evil Spirit of Babel," after sacrificing himself to ensure the continuation of Rhodes Island, had rekindled his original innocence and kindness towards Orson.

Maybe the Doctor educated Orson like he did Amiya in the Tower of Babel, which is why this Chimera is so interesting and cute?

"Huff, Hulu, Puhu..."

A strange sound came from Orson's mouth, and it was clear that the chimera was still asleep. Kal'tsit's palm slid gently from Orson's hair to his cheek, but her eyes were drawn to the scar on his throat that was visible through the gap in his white turtleneck shirt.

Only at this moment would Kal'tsit realize that the young man had lost his voice forever while struggling to survive in the North.

...So, how long do I have to maintain this state?

Kelsey frowned.

Using tricks like 'physical examinations' or 'blood tests' to cover up the inner turmoil she was experiencing, she had to find a 'formal' reason to approach him, wanting to become closer to him, but could only use the 'doctor-patient relationship' to evade him...

What on earth am I afraid of... Really, this hesitant look is so different from the individual 'Kal'tsit' no matter how I think about it.

Because she no longer had endless work, Kal'tsit could finally fully think about her emotions and attitude towards Orson, but all she got was a mess and her own disgust for herself.

"Anyway, at least let's not think about those things for now..."

Work that cannot be handled quickly will be put aside for the time being. Kal'tsit, who is well aware of this, realized that she might not be able to sort out her feelings for Orson for a while, so she simply decided to ignore what would happen later and enjoy herself while she could, taking advantage of this time to "get along" with Orson.

Kal'tsit shook her head, put aside the unnecessary thoughts, and looked at Orson again.

It's really strange. As long as we are close to each other like this, as long as I look at his face like this, my heartbeat and thoughts will become more excited than usual.

Kal'tsit could feel Orson's warmth, and could really feel the rise and fall of every soft breath he took.

This is because of the special physique of Chimera's blood. Normally, my thoughts would never be affected to this extent.

Kal'tsit kept convincing herself that all her abnormal reactions were caused by the Chimera blood, but even so, the green cat's head finally froze after a long time.

"…It's just for a moment, it should be fine."

Kal'tsit's gaze was fixed on the lips of the sleeping Orson, and her breathing became slightly faster.

Orson was leaning on his shoulder. He only needed to turn his head slightly and lean forward a little to easily carry out a pheromone exchange that had no biological meaning.

"This is an oral examination... Yeah, that's right."

Kal'tsit also closed her eyes slightly, as if this behavior could ease her shyness and embarrassment.